Spark partners with Groupon Grassroots to launch program in Oakland

Spark, a youth apprenticeship program for at-risk middle schoolers, will expand to Oakland, CA this fall. This week, through a partnership with Groupon Grassroots, Spark will raise funds for this launch.

June 25, 2012 - PRLog -- SPARK, OAKLAND, & GROUPON GRASSROOTS – This fall, Spark (www.sparkprogram.org) will launch programming in Oakland, CA, where 49.5% of students drop out of high school. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Spark has served students in San Francisco and the Peninsula since 2005, and this launch will expand Spark’s reach to additional communities in need. For the initial launch, Spark will serve 50 students at Frick Middle School and Westlake Middle School (25 students at each school).

Thanks to support from the Jonas Family Fund, the Scully Foundation, the Rogers Foundation, and the Thomas J. Long Foundation Spark is well on its way to securing the funding needed to launch and sustain the Oakland program. A unique partnership with Groupon Grassroots (http://grassroots.groupon.com), the philanthropic arm of Groupon, will allow Spark to secure additional funds needed to support the Oakland program.

From Monday, June 25th through Sunday, July 1st, Spark’s Oakland Launch campaign will be available on Groupon Grassroots’ San Francisco page (http://www.groupon.com/deals/grs-spark). Utilizing Groupon Grassroots’ collective action model, Groupon subscribers can pledge support for the campaign in increments of $10, and 100% percent of the Groupon Grassroots campaign proceeds will be used to provide apprenticeships for Spark’s first cohort of students in Oakland. Once the campaign reaches 50 pledges ($500), Spark’s Bay Area Advisory Board will collectively contribute the remaining $1,000 – resulting in $1,500 total to help close the gap for the Fall 2012 Oakland launch.

“Spark is excited to partner with Groupon Grassroots to mobilize support for our Oakland launch, said Spark Co-Founder & CEO Chris Balme. “This campaign demonstrates that every little bit counts in helping Spark provide hands-on apprenticeships to more and more young people throughout the Bay Area and beyond."

ABOUT SPARK— Spark is a national nonprofit that provides life-changing apprenticeships to middle school students from disadvantaged communities. Spark addresses the nation’s high school dropout crisis by connecting volunteer professionals with underserved youth in workplace apprenticeships to “spark” their potential. Students identify a “dream job,” and Spark matches that student with a mentor doing that job. These apprenticeships are complemented by a Leadership Class, which helps students connect apprenticeship learning to school. As students explore the school-to-career connection, they build skills critical for academic success, gain a strong appreciation for the relevance of their education, and become motivated to work hard to achieve their dreams. Spark currently operates programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and will launch in Oakland, CA in Fall 2012 and in Philadelphia in Spring 2013.

ABOUT GROUPON GRASSROOTS – Groupon Grassroots, launched in July 2010 in Chicago, features local campaigns in more than 65 markets nationwide, enabling Groupon followers to do good, have fun, and make a real impact in their communities. Groupon Grassroots uses collective action to gather support for worthwhile causes and produce tangible results for local organizations. To learn more about Groupon Grassroots and how to become a featured organization, visit http://grassroots.groupon.com. To subscribe to Groupon, visit http://www.groupon.com.